Photo caption: Professor Carl Mika (Tuhourangi, Ngāti Whanaunga), Head of the Aotahi School of Māori and Indigenous Studies at Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury
As Head of the Aotahi School of Māori and Indigenous Studies at Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury (UC), Professor Mika has played a key role in developing new philosophical approaches to mātauranga Māori, whakapapa, and Māori cosmologies.
Specialising in Māori and Indigenous philosophies, his focus is on Māori concepts of being and Indigenous perspectives on interconnectedness. “The kind of colonisation that I talk about is one that influences the way we perceive things in the world. Colonisation brought in a fragmented view of the world where, from a Māori perspective, things have their own properties— in isolation rather than as one. However, the Māori view holds that things are more intimately related,” Professor Mika says.
While arguments exist that these changes can be seen as either beneficial or detrimental, Professor Mika says the point is that the Māori worldview has changed, and pre-colonial perceptions cannot be fully recreated.
“My research explores how colonisation has changed Māori views of reality and aims to restore Indigenous ways of understanding the connections between people and the natural world.
With a desire to explore the assumptions underpinning existence, which are central to Māori philosophy, Professor Mika asks, ‘What is it for the human being to be part of the non-human as well?’
As the winner of the prestigious 2024 UC Research medal, Professor Mika came to the field of philosophy after completing a Bachelor of Laws and a Master of Indigenous Studies.
“I grew frustrated while practicing Treaty of Waitangi law by how Māori concepts were not only handled but also reduced to simplified forms that didn’t capture their true essence.
“It was not only that Māori concepts were often not being dealt with, but it was also the way they were being ordered and packaged, and I couldn't quite put my finger on it.”
Though both philosophy and law rely on conventional forms of reason, the type of philosophy Professor Mika ended up pursuing focuses on reclaiming and restoring Māori knowledge and experiences that extend beyond the limits of conventional thinking.
While a Māori worldview has changed through colonial influence, Professor Mika speculates on future ways of understanding that might resonate more authentically with Māori identity today.
“We can never fully recreate a pre-colonised Māori worldview so part of my research is to explore how we might reclaim and build on pieces of that knowledge and experience, even if it's just in theory.”
A highlight of Professor Mika’s career has been the publication of his book Indigenous Education and the Metaphysics of Presence: A World Philosophy— a discussion on the impacts of colonisation on Indigenous worldviews which advocates for a Māori approach that values interconnectedness and a more holistic way of understanding the world.
“Moving forward, all we can do is speculate about another kind of perception which resonates more with what it is to be Māori.”
Professor Mika says that his research suggests there is a different way to look at things. “My research is not necessarily immediately applicable in a social setting. Where some people argue for the revitalisation of te reo Māori, I will think about what a Māori philosophy of language might look like. I have tended to consider the first principles that set the stage for the events that followed— providing insights into how and why these social dynamics emerged and persist.”
Central to his work is the need to accept that there are other ways of understanding and talking about the relationship between things in the world.
“To actually implement change would be massive; I don’t think any social system would look the same. It would start with recognising how everything is interconnected or ‘one’, but accepting other world views is one of the most uncomfortable possibilities we face as humanity.”
Professor Mika holds a PhD in German Studies from the University of Waikato, where his work on the Māori philosophy of Being, particularly through the lens of the philosopher Novalis' ontology, has been groundbreaking.
In 2024, he won the UC Faculty of Arts Kairangahau Māori Award for research in Māori philosophies—both traditional and contemporary— and Māori methodologies. His research is internationally recognised, with collaborations in Canada and Sweden, and his contributions have reshaped Māori methodologies in academic and Indigenous settings.
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